


Blood Court

by Kate translates (Kate_Marley)



Series: Red-White-Red in the Alphabet (Rot-Weiß-Rot im Alphabet) by Sternenschwester [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Austrian history - Freeform, Blood Court of Wiener Neustadt, Gen, Historical Hetalia, early modern history
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 04:12:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate_Marley/pseuds/Kate%20translates
Summary: In 1522, Austria is forced to watch a gruesome scene, and Spain watches Austria.Original written in German bySternenschwester.





	Blood Court

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Blutgericht](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/350295) by Sternenschwester. 



> It was due to the term “Blood Court” that I [Sternenschwester] decided to start the project “Red-White-Red in the Alphabet” (Rot-Weiß-Rot im Alphabet), a collection of oneshots about Austrian history in which there will be one story for each letter of the alphabet.
> 
> The Blood Court of Wiener Neustadt (Blutgericht von Wiener Neustadt) doesn’t even appear in most history textbooks at Austrian schools, and if it does, it is only mentioned in one sentence. As far as the Habsburgs and the Austrians are concerned, people usually don’t bear in mind that many Habsburgs habitually faced problems establishing themselves in the Austrian countries, particularly in their early days of lordship up to the beginning of the early modern age. Above all else, the Habsburgs pursued “international” politics. Therefore, some Habsburgs were considered foreigners in their Austrian countries (and it sufficed if they were, for example, from the Styrian line). The citizens of Vienna, in particular, didn’t make it easy for the Habsburgs and shut the city gates in their face more than once (at one time, they even besieged the imperial family in the Hofburg).  
> For those who don’t know: Wiener Neustadt is a city to the south of Vienna. (By the by, Richard the Lionhearted became a patron of Wiener Neustadt against his will because the lion’s share of his ransom went into the building of that city.)
> 
> But let’s get to the point of the term:
> 
> Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg is dead, which already cut Austria to the quick, even if the relations had cooled down decidedly by the time of his death. His grandson Charles, who had grown up in Burgundy, succeeded him to the throne of emperor as Charles V (in whose empire the sun never sets) in 1519. Since his other grandfather died as well, he also is King of Spain. Ferdinand, who was educated in Spain, was the brother of Charles. In 1521, Charles passed the Austrian lands to his brother, keeping Upper Austria and Tirol for himself. Ferdinand, who had the good sense not to let his disappointment show (Tirol was richer and more modern than the duchies of Austria, Styria, Carniola, and Carinthia), left Spain with his retinue and marched to Austria. From then on, tensions came to exist because the Austrian estates considered Ferdinand a foreign ruler. Prejudices against Ferdinand substantiated when he didn’t install native nobles in offices but only the Spaniards he had brought with him. Tensions emerged on both sides because, in the eyes of the Spaniards, the culture of the Austrians was stuck in the middle ages. The splendour of Spanish courtly culture was foreign and opaque to the Austrians (German-speaking people don’t say “That’s Greek to me”, but “Das kommt mir spanisch vor”, i.e. “That’s Spanish to me”, and the expression dates from this time). One of the first actions this Habsburg took was summoning the representatives of the oppositional estates of Vienna to court (among them two nobles and the mayor of Vienna, Martin Siebenbürger). The reasons were that, before Ferdinand’s accession to power, they  
> 1- acted oppositional to his brother Charles V,  
> 2- claimed rights for Vienna that weren’t due to them and  
> 3- allegedly misappropriated tax money.  
> In addition, the people of Vienna were accused of expelling the court of the territorial prince (instituted by former emperor Maximilian I) from the city and to have instituted a new regiment (autonomous estatist action and opposition against authority!) Eight of them were sentenced to death in Wiener Neustadt (heads off).  
> In the eyes of many contemporaries (in particular the Spaniards) this proof of power was a well-deserved punishment suitable to force the obstinate people of Vienna to their knees. In addition, it was meant to serve as an example to the rest of Austria.
> 
> By the way, the language at court was Italian at the time (if I’m not mistaken, I don’t find my book at the moment). That’s why everyone in this oneshot is speaking Italian (but it doesn’t have effects on the action).
> 
> Phew, considering I had planned to write a drabble this time, the following has become longer than intended and the explanation was also meant to be shorter.

Antonio nervously shifted from one foot to the other. He didn’t want to be here. On the one hand, the convicts deserved their fate, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to bear witness when his protégé humiliated Roderich. The Austrian stood at the window, a tense expression on his face, and was forced to watch the spectacle. With every blow of the executioner’s sword, the hands of the pale, brown-haired man clenched more around the window ledge. Antonio even thought he heard Roderich’s nails scratching on the cold stone. Ferdinand, Antonio’s protégé who would rule the Austrian countries from now on, stood at one of the neighbouring windows and gazed at the square with a straight face. Once again, the barker announced the offence of the following delinquent and the executioner raised his sword above his head. The blow fit well and the head that rolled onto the ground was severed neatly. The Spanish members of the illustrious circle of the Habsburgs sneered gleefully at the fate of the convicts.

Two days ago, the noble members of this affair of estates, if you will, had been executed. Antonio shuddered, remembering the fuss the representative of the Austrian countries had made. In the course of this, Roderich had almost gone at a particularly brash Spanish noble when the latter had sneered at the situation of the people of Vienna. The only reason why the nose of this person had remained where it belonged was that Antonio had intervened none too soon in order to prevent more damage. He hadn’t come to expect this wrathful and inordinate side from Roderich. When he had really noticed him for the first time at the double wedding many years ago, he had got to know a cold and distant young man who was exceptionally gifted with music. At the time, however, neither Roderich nor him would have thought their future would become this entwined with one another due to the marriage of Philip the Fair of Habsburg and Joanna the Mad.

The final head rolled onto the ground of the square. Antonio saw Roderich grind his teeth. This was also about the fate of these men, but Roderich was no fool with regard to politics. He knew the message was unmistakeably directed at him in order to not get any ideas.

Once more, Ferdinand brushed his beard briefly, then turned his head to the representative of the Austrian countries. When the crowd began to disperse below and the executioner’s assistants handed the bodies over to the gravediggers, the Austrian loosened his hands from the ledge and turned to go. The Habsburg briefly cleared his throat, and the guards retained Roderich rudely. He furiously returned the look of his new lord. Antonio felt more and more uncomfortable. He increasingly felt caught in the middle.

Why oh why did he have to accompany Ferdinand to this country?

A long period of silence followed during which the brown-haired man engaged in a quiet staring contest with the ruler. At last, the archduchy yielded.

“Do I have your permission to retire, my lord?”

Ferdinand smiled in a satisfied way, but his eyes remained cold. He gesticulated in a dismissive way, as if praising a dog for a trick it had just grasped.

“You may retire now.”

The guards removed their hands from the small shoulders of the Austrian, but before he could reach the door, the prince started to speak again.

“Another thing, Austria, you will accompany Señor Antonio to Spain.”

The nation turned in bewilderment and looked at the man blankly, as did Antonio.

“I don’t understand, my lord. Why? My place is here!”

Ferdinand started to twirl his beard around his fingers once more.

“I want you to learn the conventions of the Spanish court.”

So that was what this amounted to. The Habsburg ruler didn’t want to conform to the culture of his Austrian ancestors but wanted to introduce his familiar Spanish culture into Austrian society. Antonio could feel the archduchy’s gaze on himself. Roderich opened his mouth to reply, then closed it as he thought better of it. He nodded courtly. “I received the message, my lord.”

“Very well, you will set out tomorrow morning.”

Ferdinand gave a hint to his retinue and stepped past the Austrian archduchy and out of the door. As they were left alone, Antonio hesitantly stepped towards the Austrian.

“I’m sorry, amigo”, he said in halting Italian. “You’ll see, he’ll be a good ruler…”

“Oh, just cut it!”, Roderich snapped at him, forgetting his manners. “For one thing, I’m NOT your friend. For another thing, I never called for this Gscherter…”, he said, relapsing to his Germanic dialect.

He was about to add a third point, but decided to leave it at that and tried to calm down inwardly. When he looked up to Antonio again, he resumed his habitually aloof posture. “Please excuse me, I didn’t want to be rude. It just distresses me when Vienna is involved in a strife. I’m always irritable during these times.”

Antonio smiled hesitantly. “Vienna isn’t the most straightforward of cities, is it? But it’s very close to you.”

Roderich tried to return his smile. “If you will, Vienna represents my seditious side.”

He gesticulated in the direction of the door and saw the Spanish nation out. The Spaniard had the impression that the situation between themselves had relaxed. Not by much, to be sure, but at least enough to break the ice between them a little.

**Author's Note:**

> German version betaed by fodazd (animexx-de)
> 
> Note: “a Gscherter” means “a newcomer” in Viennese dialect (foreigner, hick, yokel…); it’s a defamatory term the people of Vienna use towards people from the countryside, who respond with the expression Weana Bazi (= arrogant person from Vienna) – excerpt from Wörterbuch der Alltagssprache Österreichs (a dictionary of Austrian language of everyday life)
> 
> cu, Sternenschwester


End file.
